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77809

	registered interest
	date	14/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Zoos
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implementation of the European Union's Zoos Directive 1999 in the United Kingdom through the zoo inspection system.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL1106
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Zoo Licensing Act 1981, which sets out comprehensive licensing and inspection requirements for zoos, implements the EC Zoos Directive in Great Britain. Responsibility for administering these requirements rests with local authorities, which have powers to check compliance with zoo licences, to impose conditions and to take action. Ultimately this could mean closing part, or all, of a zoo if the requirements of the legislation are not met. This in turn ensures our compliance with the Directive.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In response to concerns about how local authorities were carrying out this role, Defra commissioned research into local authority implementation of the Act. The 2011 report, which looked at the period 2008-2010, found no serious problems and indeed there was evidence of significant improvements in a number of areas during this time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The report made suggestions for further improvements, such as updating guidance and zoo inspection report forms. These, together with the majority of the suggestions, have been actioned and we continue to work to make further improvements.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord De Mauley question first answered 22/07/2014 14:41:46 answering member 2202 label Biography information for Lord De Mauley
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

1012518

	registered interest
	date	22/11/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	VAT: Electronic Government
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they intend to provide to small and medium-sized enterprises about the move to the online VAT returns system.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL11710
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2018 answer text <p>There is a range of advice and support available to help businesses of all sizes prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT in April 2019. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is working very closely with software providers, businesses, representative bodies and the accountancy profession to raise awareness of MTD and ensure the right support and training is in place to help businesses adapt.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC’s customer support model, which guides businesses to the most appropriate help, includes technical support, webchat, YouTube training videos, webinars, a helpline, and relevant guides. HMRC also publishes a list of MTD for VAT compatible products on GOV.UK to help businesses make an informed choice of software to meet their needs. HMRC is writing to customers that it expects to be mandated for MTD for VAT, explaining what the business needs to do.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC’s Impact Assessment for MTD was published on 1 December 2017. There is no separate Impact Assessment relating to small and medium-sized enterprises.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL11711 question first answered 06/12/2018 17:42:28 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

1012519

	registered interest
	date	22/11/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	VAT: Electronic Government
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises of the move to the online VAT returns system.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL11711
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2018 answer text <p>There is a range of advice and support available to help businesses of all sizes prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT in April 2019. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is working very closely with software providers, businesses, representative bodies and the accountancy profession to raise awareness of MTD and ensure the right support and training is in place to help businesses adapt.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC’s customer support model, which guides businesses to the most appropriate help, includes technical support, webchat, YouTube training videos, webinars, a helpline, and relevant guides. HMRC also publishes a list of MTD for VAT compatible products on GOV.UK to help businesses make an informed choice of software to meet their needs. HMRC is writing to customers that it expects to be mandated for MTD for VAT, explaining what the business needs to do.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC’s Impact Assessment for MTD was published on 1 December 2017. There is no separate Impact Assessment relating to small and medium-sized enterprises.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL11710 question first answered 06/12/2018 17:42:28 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

749225

	registered interest
	date	06/07/2017
	answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
	hansard heading	Tourism: Taxation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to recognise chess and bridge as sports for the purpose of applying for funds provided by national sports organisations.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL561
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2017 answer text <p>The process for the recognition of sports in the UK is a matter for the Sports Councils’ Recognition Panel which is made up of Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport Scotland, Sport Northern Ireland and UK Sport.</p><p> </p><p>The games of bridge and chess are not recognised as sports by any of the UK sports councils.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans currently to revisit the question of recognition for either chess or bridge.</p> answering member printed Lord Ashton of Hyde question first answered 19/07/2017 15:25:02 answering member 4247 label Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

176946

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2015
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Small Businesses: Productivity
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the productivity of small businesses.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL4576
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2015 answer text <p>Government policy focuses on delivering growth which in turn depends on productivity in the longer term.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have already set out our four key growth ambitions: creating the most competitive tax system in the G20, making the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business, encouraging investment and exports, and creating a more educated workforce. And through our industrial strategy, the whole of government is taking a long-term strategic approach to working in partnership with businesses to increase global competitiveness, support innovation and maximise export potential.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The right tax environment is vital to help businesses flourish so we have cut the main rate of Corporation Tax from 28% to 21% and announced further cuts to 20% by 2015 – the joint lowest rate in the G20 major economies. We have helped businesses with the cost of hiring staff by introducing a new Employer Allowance which cuts £2,000 from the National Insurance bills of small firms. To support small businesses in local communities, the ‘high street discount’ for around 300,000 shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants will go up from £1,000 to £1,500, from April 2015 to March 2016. This is in addition to doubling Small Business Rate Relief for a further year which means 380,000 of the smallest businesses will pay no rates at all.</p><p> </p><p><br> <br></p><p> </p><p>R&amp;D Tax Credits are the single largest Government support for business investment in R&amp;D. They are designed to encourage greater R&amp;D spend by business leading, in turn, to greater investment in innovation and improved products and processes. The rate of relief under the SME scheme is one of the most competitive rates in the world and, at Autumn Statement 2014, was increased from 225% to 230% of qualifying R&amp;D expenditure from April 2015. Innovate UK is the Government’s prime channel for supporting business-led technology innovation. It delivers a range of programmes in support of businesses undertaking R&amp;D including Collaborative R&amp;D, Smart and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Innovate UK also provides opportunities for innovative businesses through the growing network of Catapult centres. Under the Coalition Government, Innovate UK, with partner and business contributions, has invested around £3.5 billion in innovation projects across the UK.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>More businesses are getting access to the finance they need to start up and grow with Start-Up Loans offered to over 25,000 businesses; so far lending over £129 million. The British Business Bank has facilitated £890m of new lending and investment to over 21,000 small businesses in the year to the end of September 2014. And we have facilitated over £1.67 billion of lending to over 16,000 small businesses since May 2010, through our Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. We have brought together all Government advice and support in one place at GREATbusiness.gov.uk, where the ‘My Business Support Tool’ helps businesses find the support they need quickly, and businesses can speak to or webchat with a helpline adviser direct using the Business Support helpline. Businesses can also access our new Business Growth Service on the website, which brings together expert advice to improve and grow in one place, including Growth Accelerator, the Manufacturing Advisory Service, and export advice and finance.</p><p> </p><p>Small businesses have less regulation to follow with a £10 billion cumulative net saving to businesses as a result of our deregulation work. Through the Red Tape Challenge, we have reviewed over 5,600 regulations and identified 3,000 to scrap or improve. We are on track to surpass our target of saving business £850 million per year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>And around 48,000 businesses have been helped by our UKTI support – of which 90% were small businesses. This support helped generate additional sales of over £49 billion and created or safeguarded over 220,000 jobs over the last year.<br> <br></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 17/02/2015 15:53:23 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

420500

	registered interest
	date	12/10/2015
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Small Businesses: EU Grants and Loans
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, what steps, if any, they plan to take to ensure local involvement and certainty for small businesses participating in the JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to medium Enterprises) initiative in the north-east of England; and what role the British Business Bank will have in disbursing funds for projects supported by that initiative.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL2475
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2015 answer text <p>Government has no intention of imposing any arrangements for the next round of JEREMIE-style funds that do not carry local support. The Government remains committed to the Northern Powerhouse, and in that context is continuing, with the British Business Bank, to look at how best to help SMEs across the north access the investment they need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 22/10/2015 12:20:11 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

420882

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2015
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Small Businesses: Disclosure of Information
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the requirement for public-interest enterprises to disclose non-financial interests and diversity measures under European Union Directive 2014/95 affects United Kingdom small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to be listed on stock exchanges across the European Union.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL2568
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2015 answer text <p>The Government expects to publish a consultation document shortly on plans for transposition of this Directive, most of whose provisions are already reflected in UK reporting requirements. A full impact assessment, including an assessment of the impact on SMEs, will be made available alongside the consultation document.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 21/10/2015 16:44:24 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

484544

	registered interest
	date	22/03/2016
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Reserve Forces: Languages
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those in the reserves of the armed forces have opportunities to use and develop linguistic skills.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL7321
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/04/2016 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the valuable skill sets of our reservists, all of whom have full access to the MOD's language schemes. We work to ensure that those reservists who already have a second language are able to use and develop that language. Any reservists employed in roles with direct requirements for language capability receive the same training as regular personnel.</p><p>The MOD maintains a pool of linguists through the Education and Training Services (Reserves), which provides additional language capability to exercises, operations and Defence Engagement tasks. A new training programme, which makes use of courses and bespoke training provided by the Defence Centre for Languages and Culture, has recently been introduced to develop the skills of linguists in the reserves.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 06/04/2016 12:28:41 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

147376

	registered interest
	date	10/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Refuges
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 31 October (HL2419), why they do not centrally record the number or location of refuges in England; and what consideration they have given to collecting such records as a means to developing nationwide policy.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL2780
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>My Department funds UKRefugesOnline a UK-wide database of domestic violence services which supports the national 24 hour free phone domestic violence helpline. This service enables those working with victims of domestic violence to identify appropriate services and potential refuge vacancies around the country so that victims can get the help they need as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In terms of government records, such information has never been centrally held. Refuges are not commissioned at a national level, and are generally either provided by local authorities or by independent voluntary sector organisations. To start recording the number and location would involve creating a new monitoring and data reporting regime on local government. It is the broader policy of the Coalition Government to try to reduce the burden of data reporting on local government, as it costs taxpayers’ money and diverts resources away from frontline services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>More broadly, this Government has secured £6.5 billion investment to help vulnerable people through housing related support. This forms a key element of refuge funding through local authority commissioned services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have also allocated £40 million of funding for specialist local domestic and sexual violence support services until 2015. This funding is used to part-fund 54 multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators and 144 independent domestic violence advisers. We have piloted and rolled out Clare’s Law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learned from individual tragedies.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are keeping this matter under review, and are keen to support best practice and greater joint working.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 18/11/2014 14:11:28 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

142590

	registered interest
	date	06/11/2014
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Procurement: EU Law
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish their response to the consultation on the draft regulations transposing the new European Union procurement directives in the United Kingdom.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL2698
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government’s consultation on implementing the 2014 EU Procurement Directives took place between 19 September and 17 October 2014. We expect to publish our response early in the New Year.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire question first answered 17/11/2014 12:29:43 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison